Don't put up taxes. Cut them to reward the strivers and give the economy the jolt of energy it needs

Follow the author of this article

Follow the topics within this article

There would be no need to put up taxation if we ended the waste around projects like HS2Credit:
Christopher Furlong/ Getty Images

It takes an awful lot to put me off a jumbo infrastructure project. We have been hopelessly slow in equipping this country with the basic stuff that we all need to live our lives. We need better roads; we need a proper 24-hour hub airport – without disturbing vast numbers of people – of a kind that most of our competitors are now constructing. We need more clean power stations, and we should be getting on immediately with Crossrail Two, once Sadiq Khan has finished dickering around with Crossrail.

All these schemes are urgent and have my full support. But when it comes to championing HS2, the so‑called high-speed rail scheme, I am afraid my sword rather sticks in my scabbard.